The 'Other' Talk
by KuriQuinn
Summary: "How are you not upset about this!" / "I'm am upset, I just happen to be a little more informed and open-minded on the subject than someone whose traditional values harken back to the Dark Ages!" In which Sakura and Sasuke disagree about an unexpected development.


**Summary:** "How are you not upset about this?!" / "I'm _am_ upset, I just happen to be a little more informed and open-minded on the subject than someone whose traditional values harken back to the Dark Ages!" In which Sakura and Sasuke disagree about an unexpected development. [SasuSaku Festival 2017 – Day 14 – Prompt: "Domestic Disagreement"]

 **Disclaimer:** This story utilises characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelisations, comics or short stories is intended by KuriQuinn in any way, shape or form. This fan-oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

 **All plot and Original Characters except for those introduced in the canon books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn. (© KuriQuinn 2016- )**

 **Rating:** T

 **Warning:** Dialogue-only fic.

 **Canon-Compliance** : None. Alternate Reality

 **Beta Reader:** Sakura's Unicorn

* * *

"Enough."

"…"

"Sasuke, that's enough."

"…"

"No, don't get up and walk away—sit."

"…"

"Sasuke…they love each other. This is what people do when they love each other."

"How?"

" _How_? Do you really need me to draw you a diagram? I thought the whole _in flagrante delicto_ was enough—"

"No! Not _how_ that! How could she do this to me?"

"She didn't do this _to_ you. Or me. In fact—and I sincerely hope—she probably wasn't even thinking about either of us."

"You are not helping.

"Would you like me to freak out? Sit in the dark like some overgrown bat, glaring at her door from the living room? Because if you think it'll help, I can do that."

"Sakura, for fuck's sake, she's sixteen. She should not be… She shouldn't even be thinking about… _How_ is this an issue that we're dealing with right now?"

"I would say 'dealing with' is putting it strongly."

"Why are you not upset by this?"

"Did I ever say I wasn't upset? Because trust me, I'm upset. I honestly didn't think sex was going to be an issue for another year or two."

"Another…another _year_?"

"Or two."

"So you were expecting…"

"Darling, not every teenager is going to wait for marriage, like you and I did. And honestly, that was only because you wanted to wait. If circumstances had been different, I probably would've jumped you the minute you got back to Konoha."

"That's… It's completely different."

"It really isn't."

"She was raised to know better. Falling on her back for the first boy she—"

"You had better be _really_ careful how you finish that sentence, Sasuke."

 _"I_ should be careful? If I see the little bastard again—"

"You will be completely courteous to him."

" _No_ , I won't."

" _Yes_ , you will. She chose him, she loves him, and you will respect her choice."

"She's my daughter!"

"And it's her body! She gets to make decisions about it and who she shares it with!"

"How are you not upset about this?!"

"I _am_ upset. I just happen to be a little more informed and open-minded on the subject than someone whose traditional values harken back to the Dark Ages!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're not about to lock our daughter up in a tower until someone trades us two goats in order to marry her! It means we're not going to check her bedsheets for stains, or sneak through her cupboards to count condoms, or check her phone to see if she's sexting! It means we respect her privacy because she is almost an adult, because if we ever want her to come to us when there actually _is_ a problem, we can't alienate her over something that isn't actually an issue."

"But this is an issue!"

"No. It's. Not."

"Then I'd hate to see _your_ definition of an issue."

"Oh, I don't know…a drug problem? Gambling debts? Accidentally killing someone? Those are problems. Sex is not a problem."

"It is when it's your teenaged daughter's down on her knees and—"

" _I do not need a reminder! Shannaro!"_

"And here I thought you were all for it."

"Don't put words in my mouth! I didn't say I was happy about this whole thing. I'm just trying to point out that there's nothing wrong with having sex!"

"I never said there was!"

"Yes, as long as it's _married_ sex. Because clearly sex when it's attached to a piece of paper makes it _official_ sex, and that's obviously so much more _meaningful_."

"Your sarcasm isn't amusing."

"It's not meant to be."

"And are you saying waiting for marriage wasn't meaningful for you?"

"What? No! Of course not! You know it was!"

"Then I don't see why waiting can't be an option for her."

"Because everyone is different, Sasuke! You and I…you know we didn't have a normal relationship. And when we finally did get married, when we were together for the first time…it was like coming home after the longest, most brutal journey ever. It was beautiful and amazing and…and right. But that's our story. It worked for us, but I…I don't…"

"You don't want that for her."

"Not until she's old enough—not until she's strong enough."

"…"

"I don't want her nursing a broken heart for ten years on the off chance she'll be with her soulmate at the end of it. I want her to live. I want her to fall in love—I want her to fall out of love. I want her to do exactly what makes her happy—within reason. She still has to be smart and responsible, but Sasuke, she should at least have that chance. Because the minute she _does_ find the person she's going to spend the rest of her life with, she'll be closing herself off to so many other experiences."

"…like you did."

"I didn't say that."

"It was implied."

"There you go, putting words in my mouth again. Are you just trying to pick a fight now?"

"In case you haven't noticed, we're already fighting."

"Because you're being so pig-headed!"

"At least I'm thinking about things from a responsible standpoint, and not as someone trying to live vicariously through my teenaged daughter."

"That is not what's happening here. Are you even _listening_?!"

"Yes, I'm listening!"

"Then what exactly are you still so angry about?!"

"I don't know!"

"…"

"…"

"Well, I do."

"…"

"She's your little girl. _Our_ little girl. You've got this image in your head of her at six years old with scraped knees and missing teeth, and you don't want to think of her in any way but that. This whole thing…it's a new side of her. It's a part of her life that we can't really be there for, except as advisors. And if she ends up getting her heart broken…"

"I'll kill him."

"…we have to let that happen, too. We must let her live her life, Sasuke. We have to trust her."

"…"

"And I do trust her. She's known where babies come from since she was toddling around here herself. I've given her the STD speech practically every time she heads out of the house. She knows how to stand up for herself, and honestly, I pity the guy who tries to push her into doing something she doesn't want to. And right now, that's all we can do because, even if we forbade her from seeing him, from having sex—"

"They'd do it anyway."

"Exactly."

"…"

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not to happy they were in our bedroom. We might have to burn that bed and get a new one."

"Hm."

"So, we're definitely going to have a discussion about appropriate places to fornicate."

"Please don't use that word in connection with our daughter."

" _Heh_. All right."

"…We should probably invite _him_."

"He has a name, you know."

"Not one he deserves to be called right now."

"Fair enough."

"I'm still not all right with this."

"I know."

"And if something goes wrong, I won't hesitate to say, 'I told you so.'"

"If it ever comes to that, you get one."

"Fine."

"…"

"…"

"Do you think Naruto knows?"

"Not yet."

"Do you want me to call him or should I?"

"I'll go see him."

"There is far, far too much sadistic glee in your voice right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

終わり

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